By mid-January, open interest in Bitcoin options rose to about $74.1 billion, edging past Bitcoin futures open interest of roughly $65.22 billion.

Open interest is the stock of outstanding contracts that have not been closed or expired, so it measures position inventory, not trading activity. So, when options inventory exceeds futures, it often shows a market that's leaning less on raw directional leverage and more on structured exposure: hedges, yield overlays, and volatility positioning